My computer's back

Got my computer back several days ago. Basically long story short, after two trips to the Apple store, I've got a new hard drive. What that means is, I've lost everything ~ all my data and fancy applications! No more iWork, Photoshop, Word and Excel! :-(

Good thing I backed up my documents to a portable drive before leaving Manila. So except for a week's worth of pictures, most of my data have been restored, phew!

Lesson learned from this:: regular backups via Time Machine. And, to buy Apple Care before the warranty is up.

my computer is dead

argh! my mac conked out this afternoon. not happy about it at all considering it's less than a year old. i'm crossing my fingers I haven't lost my yosemite pictures - that would really suck if I did. taking it to the store tomorrow. hmmm, maybe I can upgrade to the air...

it was a great trip to yosemite. I did my long run, whopee. best of all, I stumbled on a family of deers - 7 of them! it was awesome just to watch them graze. i hope to post some pictures of them and the spectacular views of yosemite...

posted from an iPod touch.

It's definitely springtime...

...because I can't stop sneezing
...the flowers are starting to bloom
...it's still light outside and it's almost 7:30pm

Still jetlagged, I'm not tired but my hours of sleep hasn't yet normalized! Haven't unpacked yet ~ there's no place to put my stuff. My room has become everyone's dumping ground for storage. Argh! Thank god I'm still jobless, because it'll take some time to sort through all this junk. What makes it worse is that it's not even my stuff so I can't just throw them out.

Woke up past 2pm today and went out for a short and easy run. Way shorter than my planned 3 miles. It was an uninspired run, I didn't plan my route, I was sneezing, I was thirsty, there were cars... Aborted the run at 1.73mi rather than continue being miserable. This is not a good start to my marathon training! =(

Miles   ::	1.73
Pace   ::	11:35
Time   ::	20:04

Hopefully it'll all change this weekend. Heading to Yosemite this Friday, whoopee! Looking forward to snowshoeing, biking, hiking, and crossing my fingers, doing my long run for the week, an 8miler. Hmmn, can I fit this all in four days???

Layover in HK

Hi there! Currently in HK for a 3 hour layover before continuing on to SF. I only had a few hours sleep last night, I am so tired. Keeping my fingers crossed that there won't be any screaming babies around me on the long flight...

Just saw a friend's online album of my going away dinner party. My gad, I couldn't stop laughing! I wish I could share it in this space, but there are some people who won't like it... :-) To my friends who came to the despedida party, I shall miss you guys!!! You made my stay in Manila so unforgettable. You guys are the best!

It still hasn't hit me that I am moving back to the Bay Area. But I'm sure once I near SF, my heart will pound with excitement. As many more adventures await.

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

...well not quite, but I'm almost there. Sunday is the big day, so I'm making the most of my time left.



These four boxes are currently on its way to Oakland by ship...

Holy weekend in Tagaytay

A fantastic view of Taal lake and volcano

It was a lazy 3 days and two nights at my Tito's place in Tagaytay. The weather was cool enough to wear a light sweater, a welcome change from Manila and Boracay.

I was content just sitting around the dinner table the entire time chatting with the family. I finally tackled organizing my Australia pictures. That was a time suck, whittling down 4,000+/- shots to 810. And I'm not close to done yet, I'd like to get it to under 500! But that can wait.


Cholesterol loading Filipino breakfast. Longanisa, corned beef, pork and beans, fried fish, fried eggs and fried rice. That's a lot of fried stuff!

I had a 2hr massage from Della, my tita's masseuse, who joined us for the weekend. Man, that girl is strong, sometimes to the point of oww! As in, it hurts so good, if you know what I mean. She worked on my shoulders until the knots disappeared, and my legs felt like jelly when she was done. Ahh, she'd be good after a long distance run...



Isn't this girl a cutie?

My 12 year old nephew whupped my ass in wii tennis. Apparently, form doesn't count for much in wii, it's all about the wrist. :-( But it was payback time when I beat my 8 year old godson in Boggle :-) Ha ha, I'll take my wins anywhere I can. On another note, I taught my cousins and godson how to solve Sudoku puzzles. I think I've got them hooked.


Look at that kid dance!


It was a good weekend. Topping it off, we were greeted by two butterflies hovering around the trellis as we were leaving. It was said that the butterflies were my grandparent's spirit saying their hellos. :-)

Boracay revisited

It was unlike any other Boracay trip I've had. For one, we were nowhere "close" to white beach. Second, we didn't even touch the water. And lastly, we ate in most of the time.

Heading to and from white beach from my brother's condo unit was no easy task. Trikes have difficulty climbing the hills to his place. Arrangements have to be made with the condo driver for pickups and drop offs. Plus you need to hike a short but steep hill to get to the multicab. No big deal really, but it may be for some.

Inconveniences aside, we hardly left the condo. There was no need to. It was beautiful up there, the view stunning. We had everything we needed, food, alcohol, wireless connection, a pool and hundreds of movies to choose from. We did venture out a few times to replenish our water supply, for happy hour, and a few meals...

Trip Highlights ::

Nipa Hut. My brother took us on a 20 minute hike to his nipa hut for cocktails. We watched the sunset and were chatted up by Efren, a local landowner, who joined us in our festivities. We were there for a couple of hours, enjoying the view and the latest gossip re the Gucci Gang.


The hike up to the hut




The fantastic view from up there



Night swimming. After cocktails, I did a few easy laps in the pool. It was a good sized pool, approximately 18+/- meters long. The night was calm, the water warm and even better, it didn't sting your eyes. Except for the pool lights, it was pitch black with a few stars out, so quiet, so peaceful...



Tirta Spa. We had a most excellent experience at Tirta. Surpassing my Mandala experience and possibly equaling ShangriLa Mactan's Chi. Even before entering the grounds of Tirta, we were awed by its imposing entrance. As we passed the gates, a man struck the gong announcing our arrival.

We chatted with the lovely and charming owner, En Calvert. She explained the process that went into Tirta. So much love, thought and detail was poured into it, down to personally training her staff. I picked the Hilot massage (Filipino massage), while my sister had the scalp and the foot reflexology treatments. Mmmmm... if you're in Bora, you've got to check this place out.


The entrance to Tirta Spa



Ulysses. There was this guy in Boracay, Ulysses, who used to massage me years ago. He was so good that I'd look for him each time I'm there. But for the last three years, no one seemed to know where he disappeared to. So I was so happy to bump into him and his wife Lynette at D'Mall. We quickly made arrangements for a massage the following day. Oh man, he was good! I wanted to enjoy each stroke, but I fell asleep within the first 30 minutes. I'd say that Uly's massage was at par with my massage at Tirta, but without the ambiance. Afterwards, we were treated to a numbers reading by his wife, an albulario (medium/witch), who claims she can cure various ailments, if you believe in those things...


Uly and his wife Lynette


Low wattage ambiance but a first rate massage

Extended Happy Hour. For our last night in Bora, we headed over to Aria. We befriended Nicky, the restaurant manager, who agreed to give us happy hour prices all night long on the condition that we crawl out of the place at the end of the night. Umm no, we didn't dare. I love their margaritas, they make it strong!




My cousin wanted her face cropped out of the picture...

So, that was my last hurrah. I don't know when I'll be able to visit this place again, but I'm already looking forward to it.

Zero miles in 16 days

I can't believe, I haven't ran since I returned from Australia!!! I can already see unwanted changes in my body. It hasn't helped that I've been eating non-stop, like a pig.

All the walking and running I did in Australia, plus the long plane ride back to Manila, somehow affected my knees. My right knee was swollen for 4 days, it felt like it had some extra fluid there... But it's all better now. I'm going to have to start running again soon. Thank god my marathon training begins next week!

Some pictures from my runs in Australia...